One such path way is by coming to Australia as an international student and then applying for Permanent Residency, PR.

The point to note while applying for PR is that you have to gain certain number of points. If you can score the required points, you get PR. If not then you have to do some thing else to get extra points to be eligible for PR.

How much points you have to score? That depends on the type of immigration you are applying for. For a complete list of different categories of immigration, please check this post.

Once you have determined which category you have to apply through, you look up the required score for your category. For example, these days, the score required for International students is 120. For a complete list of scores for different categories, check this post.

Once you have determined what the required score is, you go about calculating whether you can score that much points or not.

So this is a brief over view of how to immigrate to Australia.

1. Chose your category.2. Check the score for that category.3. See if you can score that many points or not.

Now there are two ways to immigrate. On shore and offshore immigration. I have explained both of them in the post mentioned above. You can visit it here.

I will first explain the process of immigrating for those people who want to immigrate to Australia as international students.

Immigrate to Australia as an International Student

The reason most people are interested in coming to Australia as an international student is because later on they want to apply for PR and get settled down in Australia. If you are one of them then read what I have written below.

If you want to apply for PR after completing your post graduate degree, you need a great deal of planning. You need to have the precise knowledge of how many points you will get once you finish your degree and whether you can then apply for PR with that number of points or not. If not, then what is the way to make up for those points. Make sure you know ever thing before you come to Australia. It would be of no use if you complete your only to know that you are short of 5 points. You will be left high and dry in the middle of no where and your whole two years of emotional, physical, financial and academic investment would be ruined.

Ok enough of advices. Time to get down to the basics.

Step 1.

If you want to immigrate to Australia, you need to have some thing which Australia needs. A particular type of Skill which is in demand in Australia.

There is no difference between SOL and MODL except that certain professions on SOL are in high demand and therefore placed on MODL. If you have skills of an occupation listed on MODL, you will claim bonus points for that.

What if my profession is not on SOL?

If your profession is not on SOL, you will score less points then those whose occupations are listed on SOL. So all you have to do is to get those extra points from other alternative means to cover up for your occupation not being in SOL.

Check this post to see how to get extra bonus points.

What next?

Thenext step is to apply for an admission in an Australian university for a post graduate degree which is closely related to the profession of your choice. I will deal with undergraduate degrees later on.

This profession of choice would be the same as the one you have chosen on SOL. Please note that the word "closely related" is very technical in nature and you should be completely sure that your degree IS actually closely related to your choice of profession.

You are also supposed to be enrolled in a course which is a valid CRICOS course. If you enrol in a course which is not a valid CRICOS course, you are not eligible for PR.

How Do I know that my degree will fetch me 60 points or not?

That's pretty easy. Simply check the website of your assessing authority's website and see if the degree you are undertaking is listed on the website or not. If it is, then how many points is it worth for?

For example, I did a 2 years MSc Internetworking Extended from UTS. My assessing authority is Australian Computer society, ACS. The ACS lists all the degrees from all the universities of Australia, which it recognises as valid degrees and also assigns scores to those degrees. ACS has listed my degree as worth 60 points.

Since the time I wrote this article, ACS has revamped their website and now instead of mentioning the number of points, they simple mention if the degree is of professional level or associate level. So what you need to do is that you contact ACS and ask the question

"If I complete the degree ABC, would I be able to get a positive skills assessment in profession XYZ which has the ASCO code 1234 on the SOL? You can also ask ACS if a degree being associate or professional has any effect on getting a positive skills assessment for a particular profession."

Actually I will myself ask this question from ACS and if they respond I will put their response here as many people have asked me the same question.

Similarly, you check the website for your assessing authority for the degree you are doing.

The assessing authorities are listed on the SOL and MODL.Two Years study

Also you should remember, that to be fulfil the prerequisites of PR, you should have studied in Australia for two years. What does that mean? Check this post. Understanding the two year rule is very necessary.

The bottom line is that before you apply for PR, you should have studied in degrees, diplomas or trade certificates for a total official period of 92 weeks.

If your degree was of 52 weeks but you completed it in 92 weeks, it will still be considered as 52 weeks NOT 92 weeks. Check the post for more details.

You can complete these 92 weeks by studying one degree or by studying multiple degrees, diplomas or trade certificates.

Ok I have finished my degree now what?

Congrats! Apply for PR! What else? But it would be wise to consult a lawyer before you do that just to make sure if things are in the right order or not.

This was a brief primer to immigration to Australia for International students.

I will discuss immigration for other professionals who dont want to spend money in over post graduate education and want to apply for offshore immigration. Visit this post for updated information.

A few facts about Skilled independent Visa Sub class 885.

The 885 visa sub class allows overseas students who have completed their course studies in Australia and holders of certain temporary visas to apply for permanent residency.

This visa uses a points test to select visa applicants with characteristics needed in the Australian labour market.

You do not require sponsorship to apply for this visa.

Who is this visa for?

This visa is for you if you are in Australia and you are one of the following:

have the skills and qualifications that meet the Australian standard for an occupation on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) and your nominated occupation is classified as either:

a 60 point occupationor

a 50 point occupation

The SOL is a list of skilled occupations that are in need in Australia. Each occupation listed on the SOL is allocated a points value for use in the visa assessment process.See: Form 1121iSkilled Occupation List (SOL) and Employer Nomination Scheme Occupation List (ENSOL) (129KB PDF file)

28 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Hi. Your blog is very informative. I wanted to know is it mandatory to work for one and a half years before I apply for PR? I mean if I qualify for 120 points as soon as I complete my education, will I still have to work for one and a half years before I apply for PR? Also I have found that ACS accredits my course as a professional course and yet it doesnt sort of specify how many points it carries? Does professional accredition mean that it carries 60 points? I will be highly obliged if ou could clarify this for me. Thanks a tonne

I have joined a course called "Masters of IT and Communications"Its got a CRICOS code and its of 2 year duration.But its not accredited yet with the ACS or engineers australia.The university has just taken some subjects from IT and some subjects from Telecommunications, put them together and a new masters course is made.(the IT and Telecommunication courses are accredited with ACS and Engg AU respectively)The course co ordinatior says, Immigration ppl assess the subjects in such case and it wont be a problem for PR.

But its not accredited yet with the ACS or engineers australia.The university has just taken some subjects from IT and some subjects from Telecommunications, put them together and a new masters course is made.(the IT and Telecommunication courses are accredited with ACS and Engg AU respectively)The course co ordinatior says, Immigration ppl assess the subjects in such case and it wont be a problem for PR.***********

It would be good that instead of taking the word of the coordinator, you should confirm it from the concerned assessing body.

Last of all you dont apply to two different assessing bodies for skills assessment.

You chose a profession on the SOL or MODL which is closely related to your degree and then look up the related assessing body listed next to it on the SOL or MODL.

Then you apply to that body for assessment of your skills.

I dont know which profession on the SOL or MODL has ACS as well as Eng council listed as the assessing body.

hhmm....i just need to know if course accrediation is necessary for PR or not or it just needs to be a CRICOS course.If an accrediation is necessary for PR, then i will have to change my course to one which is accrediated.

hhmm....i just need to know if course accrediation is necessary for PR or not or it just needs to be a CRICOS course.If an accrediation is necessary for PR, then i will have to change my course to one which is accrediated.

**************

Whether the course is accredited by ACS or not doesnt matter.

What matters is that the course should be a CRICOS registered course

AND

You should be able to get a positive skills assessment from ACS after you complete that course.

Normally ACS will only give you a positive skills assessment if the degree you completed from the Australian university is listed on their website and given an associate or professional level.

oh boy!! this seems to be an alert situation.Now what i had in mind was, according to my knowledge,my BACHELORS degree will be considered for skill assessment(i am a an engineer in electronics and telecommunications).So i guess, the Australian degree doesnt matter for PR i suppose, its there only to claim 5 points for the 2 year Aussie study, isnt it so?(30 pts age, 60 pts for SOL,25 pts proficient english,5 pts 2 yr study)like, in the end, i will never have to access the AU study except for the 2 yr study....i seem to be confused now.....am i wrong somewhere??

*********Now what i had in mind was, according to my knowledge,my BACHELORS degree will be considered for skill assessment(i am a an engineer in electronics and telecommunications).**********

You can apply for PR in two ways.

Offshore migration and onshore migration.

Onshore migration is normally for international students AND other temporary visa holders who have worked for one year in Australia.

You can only apply for onshore migration once you have studied for two years in a degree which is closely related to a profession on the SOL or MODL and fulfilled other requirements.

Since you have a degree which is of electronics and telecommunication nature, you should chose a profession from the MODL and apply to engineering Australia for a skills assessment as a professional of Profession A,B,C. A,B,C being professions on the MODL.

I am aware that certain electrical engineering professions are on the MODL. So if you get a positive skills assessment from Engineering Australia stating that you are a professional from profession A,B or C, then you can apply for offshore migration as well.

You can still come to Australia as an international student and mean while your offshore migration can be processed. If your offshore application gets rejected, you can then later on apply for onshore migration after completing two years of studies.

But then your degree would be IT related and you will have to apply for skills assessment to ACS and NOT engineering Australia.

*****So i guess, the Australian degree doesnt matter for PR i suppose,********

No it does matter. You are confusing onshore application with offshore applications. They are two different things with different processes and requirements.

I have explained it in my posts.

****its there only to claim 5 points for the 2 year Aussie study, isnt it so?*****

No you are wrong. You do get 5 points for Australian education but 2 years study is a pre-requisite for applying for an onshore application. Its not some thing which you can ignore by getting bonus points from some where else.

You should apply for offshore application since you have a background in a profession which is on MODL. It depends upon the fact whether you have experience in your field or not.

Engineering Australia will accredit your degree and give you a positive skills assessment, HOWEVER, if you do not have work experience in your field, the immigration department might reject your application.

After applying for offshore application you can then wait for the result while you come to Australia as an international student.

***************

Hope this clears every thing.

Offshore and Onshore applications are two different things.

You apply for offshore applications normally if you have 3 years work experience AFTER 16 years of education in a profession listed on SOL or MODL.

You apply for onshore applications after 2 years of study in a degree closely related to a profession listed on SOL/MODL.

If you come to Australia, I would recommend contacting a lawyer who can then advise you whether your offshore application would be successful or not. Then you can apply for offshore application depending upon what the lawyer says.

Offshore applications can be made from inside or outside Australia. It doesnt matter what your geographical location is.

Junaid i am very sorry for not informing that i am in australia right now.I dont have any experience.My application will be an onshore.

The only thing thats bothereing me is that the Post grad degree isnt accrediated.Its been 2 weeks since my course started and i got 2 more weeks to change course if there r serious problems related to accredation.Some frn says,that ultimately my Bachelors will be assessed, so i need not worry abt accredition.The only thing to care abt is that the course is a CRICOS with 2 yr full time load to make the 120 points.(This course charges less so i am interested in this course,(its ms of IT and communications))

*****Junaid i am very sorry for not informing that i am in australia right now.I dont have any experience.******

As I dont have any expertise in offshore visa applications, I would suggest you contact a MARA registered lawyer. May be there is a way out and you can apply for residency based on your bachelors degree.

Let me know if you want to contact a lawyer. He will charge your $110 for a sitting and explain what you should do to get residency and also advise you whether your bachelors degree can help you get residency or not.

***My application will be an onshore.****

In that case you will be using your Australian degree which you completed in 2 years. Your bachelors degree from India would be of no use for an onshore application.

Yes that is a potential problem. Although it is CRICOS certified, it should also be listed on the ACS website as a recognised degree.

Although ACS does recognise on the basis of individual subjects studied, it would be good not to take chances and talk to a lawyer about it.

Also contact ACS about it. Ask your coordinator whether they have any plans to get it recognised by ACS or not?

******Its been 2 weeks since my course started and i got 2 more weeks to change course if there r serious problems related to accredation.*******

You can change your course provider ,i.e university only after 6 months. You can change your degree with the same university any time. So dont panic. If you come to the conclusion that this degree is not going to help you, change your university or course degree later on and get an exemption on the basis of the 6 months you have already studied.

*****Some frn says,that ultimately my Bachelors will be assessed, so i need not worry abt accredition.*****

No. If you are going to apply for onshore application, it is your 2 years Australian study which would matter and not your 4 years of Indian study.

******The only thing to care abt is that the course is a CRICOS with 2 yr full time load to make the 120 points.*******

Being CRICOS certified and studying 2 years is a pre-requisite. Pre-requisites and points are two different things. You get points for choosing a profession which is on SOL/MODL. Professions which are on SOL get 60 points and those which are on MODL get 70 points.

So I dont understand what you are trying to say about getting 120 points.

******(This course charges less so i am interested in this course,(its ms of IT and communications))******

well I would recommend talking to a lawyer.

Send me your email address in case you are interested in talking to a lawyer.

Hi JunaidI would like to know if iam in australia on a tourist visa can i apply for immigration, though i got my skills assased positively from ACS and qualifying on point test.

********************

Yes you can apply for immigration.

But the category you will have to apply for would be offshore migration category which means that after your visit visa expires, you will have to leave the country and wait for the decision of your offshore application to come back.

Hi. i have just completed my bachelor degree of Telecommunication Engineering in Australia. as far as i know this course is accredited by Institution of Engineers Australia. but this course does not match any of these in the 1121i.

Currently I am doing Masters Course which is CRICOS Course having 12 Units 2 year course. This course is accrediated with ACS.After 6 months I will transfer my course to MIT, Master of Networking. This course also consist of 12 units, 2 years course but they said that they will give my exemption on 3 subjects as those three subjects are already done by me in my first semester of old uni. Now in MIT i only have to study 9 subjects and 3 exempted. Can I apply PR in this situation. MIT course is CRICOS also accrediated by ACS. 3 units in my old University, 9 in MIT. Can I apply for PR?

HI JUNAID.I'm sandeep from India.Basically i'm mechanical engineer.And i'm desperate to come Australia in this july-august2009 intake.For that i have taken admission in post graduation diploma in computer science( course duration of 1 year) in E.C.A. collaborated with Victoria university.As it so clear that this course is not relevant to my bachelors degree.As i want to apply for onshore immigration i have to study 2 years in Australia.My desire is to study petroleum engineering from UNSW.The course duration for that is 1.5 years. I want to ask u that can i change the course after 6 month from computer science (in E.C.A.) to petroleum eng (UNSW)? IF YES,then may i face any difficulty in getting pr?? what else can i do?pl note that i have already applied for student visa and i'm waiting for my visa to approved. so what u suggest?

hi junaid....thanks for giving me advise...about course.now..i'm aware about the problems i will face.But there some questions i have in my mind.1)i read your all answers given to other students,in that you told that in onshore immigration bachelor's degree doesn't matter,only matter is your 2 years of study?? then will i face any difficulty in my case??2)now i have taken admission in computer science.it is of 1 year duration.so i have locked my file and waiting for visa.i will have 1 year visa. After that i have to study for another 1 year.Therefor i have to study for another 1 year in another course,and need to extend my visa again.So what is your suggestion??? what should i do?i want to get PR and also want to achieved good job after study.

i read your all answers given to other students,in that you told that in onshore immigration bachelor's degree doesn't matter,only matter is your 2 years of study?? then will i face any difficulty in my case??

The 2 yr study requirement is one of the pre-requsites of onshore migration.

You still have to fulfill the rest of the requirements like nomination of a profession closely related to your 2 yr study.

Skill assessment from the relevant skills assessing authority which in your case is engineers Australia if you study petroleum engineering.

So while you will be given skills assessment of a mechanical engineer, your study would be in petroleum engineering.

So while you will fulfill the two yr study requirement by studying petroleum engineering for two yrs, you will not be able to obtain positive skills assessment for petroleum engineering.

The best would be to either study IT for two yrs or study mechanical engineering for two yrs.

If you study IT, ACS will give you a positive skill assessment based on your two yr study and you will also fulfill 2 yr study requirement.

If you study mechanical, engineers Australia will give you skill assessment based on your bachelors degree and you will also fulfill 2 yr study requirement.

If you study petroleum engineering for 2 yrs, you will fulfill 2 yr study requirement but engineers Australia will not give you skill assessment for petroleum engineering unless you want to do a bachelors degree in petroleum from Australia.

now i have taken admission in computer science.it is of 1 year duration.so i have locked my file and waiting for visa.i will have 1 year visa. After that i have to study for another 1 year.Therefor i have to study for another 1 year in another course,and need to extend my visa again.So what is your suggestion??? what should i do?

Well you have all the cards in front of you. Do what ever suits you keeping in mind your budget, your age and your finances.

Studying from a good uni is as important as getting PR so try to kill two birds with one arrow.

A solution would be to take up mechanical engineering but study more courses from petroleum engineering.

That way your degree would be me mechanical but you would have studied more courses of petroleum.

No one will have objection that way. You will get skill assessment as mechanical engineer and complete 2 yr study requirement as well.

But to do this you would need to discuss your options with your university. Most good unis offer students the option of taking courses from other degrees and faculty.

For example I did a course of Law while studying IT.

i want to get PR and also want to achieved good job after study.

Yes this is what your aim should be.

You are on the right track. By the way you should not have applied for IT. If possible get a new ECoE and re-apply for the student visa.

If you are fresh out of uni, I would recommend getting at least one yr work experience before studying further.

thanks junaid. now i'm getting the clear idea about that.i have perfect idea regarding the course.

by the way u asked me for work experience,then i have 1.5 years of work exp in my field as a Q.A.engineer. So should be best for me? i have experience in manufacturing processes like quality welding, heavy fabrication like boiler,columns,pressure vessels etc..so doing masters in manufacturing processes or production techniques subjects would be benefited me in obtaining job??is it right for me??what is your opinion?

I have applied for my temporary residency (485) but I am afraid I will not get it because I don't have the 2 year requirement (almost but not fully). However I have more than 2 years work experience in the SOL (IT / Multimedia) field Australia so I think the offshore would probably will be better for me. Or what do you think?

I have read here that you can actually apply onshore for that visa. Could you recommend a good migration agent that can just point me on the right direction. I'm in Melbourne.

485 is a graduate skilled visa given to those international students who have studied for at least 92 academic weeks in a course closely related to a profession on the SOL.

What is the CRICOS number of the course you studied. Check if its duration is at least 92 academic weeks.

If you studied multiple courses then add the complete duration.

If you already have 2 yrs work experience, then get a positive skills assessment from ACS as an IT professional and apply for offshore immigration visa subclass 175. Your Australian qualification will help you get a positive skills assessment.

But that would mean that once your current visa expires you will have to leave Australia as you have applied for an offshore immigration visa.

Unfortunately I dont know any one in Melbourne. You can send me your complete documents in email and I can forward your case to my boss.

Dear Jonaid,First thanks a lot for your helpful articles. I've just got a question for you.

Does this course below meet the 2 year rule?

http://www.mit.edu.au/courses/86/

I'm just very paranoid and thought of asking before investing this huge amount of money in my study plan which I'm doing because I'm switching my career from teaching Mathematics to administering networks. I hope I can have success there during and after study.

The best place to check the actual duration of the course is by visiting the following Link and typing in the CRICOS code of the course you are planning to study

http://cricos.deewr.gov.au/Course/CourseSearch.aspx

From the link above, I can see that your course is 104 weeks long which fulfils the two yr study requirement.

Please note that two yr study requirement is only one requirement for applying for PR.

There are lots of other requirements and criteria to be met before you become eligible to become a PR.

Kind Regards

Junaid

PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM NO LONGER A REGISTERED MIGRATION AGENT AND BY COMMUNICATING WITH YOU, I AM NOT GIVING YOU ANY PAID OR UNPAID ADVICE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DECISIONS YOU MAKE BASED ON MY RESPONSES. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE OR ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE OUTCOME OF ANY APPLICATIONS YOU LODGE WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION, AUSTRALIA. PLEASE CONSULT A REGISTERED MIGRATION AGENT FOR ADVICE ON AUSTRALIAN MIGRATION.

Dear Since long, there is no update in this page. Specially, after introduction of Skill Select, we students are worried about PR. What will happen to student like us who do not have work experience...? What is the possibility to get PR as accountant through skill select under following condition:1. If I Complete 2 years of study in Australia on Master of Professional Accounting.2. If I score 7 in IELTS.3. If I complete a professional year.A point to be noted that I am a fresh case and do not have previous work experience as accountant. Finally, is it essential to get a job offer from Australian to get PR through Skill Select? I hope u will be able to help me in this regard...thanks

Junaid

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Notice of Disclaimer

The advice given through this online blog is only general and does not take into consideration your personal circumstances. Please consult a MARA certified migration agent before making any decisions or lodging your application.

The author of this blog does not take any responsibility for any outcome of a visa application which an applicant has lodged on his/her own initiative.

PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM NO LONGER A REGISTERED MIGRATION AGENT AND BY COMMUNICATING WITH YOU, I AM NOT GIVING YOU ANY ADVICE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DECISIONS YOU MAKE BASED ON MY RESPONSES. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE OR ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE OUTCOME OF ANY APPLICATIONS YOU LODGE WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION, AUSTRALIA. PLEASE CONSULT A REGISTERED MIGRATION AGENT FOR ADVICE ON AUSTRALIAN MIGRATION.